Mike steps up to the mic

With a pink lei around his neck, the California Democrat raised his arm and hooted in support of a young staffer as she struggled through Fergie’s “Fergalicious.”

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While a cadre of Honda’s staffers sat together, gobbling down family-sized assortments including spicy tuna rolls and edamame, Honda was content to stand. The evening was a celebration of his 67th birthday, and in addition to his current employees, a considerable contingent of former staffers filtered in throughout the night. Each received a bear hug from Honda.

“Take a sip,” Honda said to a reporter, holding out a glass of what looked like day-old, warm goat’s milk.

“It’s a diuretic and a laxative,” Honda said with boyish delight after taking the glass back. (The concoction turned out to be unfiltered sake.)

Honda’s first turn at the mic was a somber moment.

After studiously flipping through the song book, he chose “Moon River.” It was a song his wife, Jeanne, who passed away in 2004, once requested.

"This is for Jeanne. Today was our anniversary,” Honda said.

He gripped the microphone tightly and closed his eyes while crooning: “We’re after the same rainbow’s end, waiting ’round the bend, my huckleberry friend, Moon River and me.”

Honda’s love of karaoke is well-known. He has performed in his home state, in Sacramento, San Jose and Los Angeles, as well as in Chicago. He even snuck in some karaoke during a trip to South Korea last year.

He first tried it out in 2001, in an effort to overcome his fear of public speaking during his first days as a congressman.

“He knew he was already a little timid and shy and wanted to be able to be a little bit more extroverted,” said Legislative Assistant Ken Takeda. “That’s one of his challenges in life that he learned how to conquer.”

Honda recalled his maiden voyage at the microphone.

“The first time, it was, I don’t know, eight years ago. We were at this fundraiser, and the guy who was raising money said, ‘How much could I bid to get Mike to come up here and sing?’” said Honda. “And then someone else said, ‘I’ll give you $500 if he doesn’t sing.’”

But that didn’t stop Honda, as he quickly developed a passion for performance. Mexican love songs are the former Spanish teacher’s go-to favorites. Toward the end of the evening Tuesday, Honda sang “En Mi Viejo San Juan” (“In My Old San Juan”).

“It’s something that gets everyone together,” Honda said. “It’s a way to relax and have a good time and listen to other people. It’s an environment where everyone is being themselves.”

For his staff members, Honda’s love of karaoke is just a small example of the personality they have come to know by working with him every day.

“He is one of the most down-to-earth people you’ll find, not just on the Hill but anywhere else,” said press secretary Jose Parra. “He’s not pretentious at all. He loves to joke. ... Sometimes I cringe because I’m like, ‘Be careful, you’re a member of Congress,’ but he doesn’t want to lose being a regular guy.”

Parra and other staffers, however, said Honda is very serious when he is at work on Capitol Hill and expects the same from his staff.

“He builds an atmosphere that is collegial, familial and hard-working, too, and so it’s fun to blow off some steam like this,” former press secretary Jay Staunton said as Honda sang yet another song in the background. “But there’s just a great feeling of camaraderie between everyone here. We all believe in the same mission, and it starts right here with Mike.”

Before the night ended, but after the platter of salmon rolls was polished off, Honda snuck out and beckoned a street vendor up the stairs and into Cafe Japone. Moments later, he handed a rose to each of his female staff members.